Strumigenys chiricahua

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Strumigenys chiricahua
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Strumigenys
Species group: rostrata
Species: S. chiricahua
Binomial name
Strumigenys chiricahua
(Ward, 1988)

Pyramica chiricahua casent0172587 profile 1.jpg

Pyramica chiricahua casent0172587 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

This species is known from two collections and possibly a third. The holotype worker was collected in a Berlesate sample of concentrated leaf litter from an oak woodland, and a colony of more than 20 workers was extracted from a rotten root in a juniper woodland. Both validated collections were made in August at or near the Southwestern Research Station in the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona. A third possible specimen is an alate queen tentatively identified from images. This specimen was collected by Gary Alpert in a Malaise trap 16 km southeast of Flagstaff in Walnut Canyon National Monument, Coconino County, in the bottom of a ravine (BugGuide 2020a) (Booher, 2021).

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the Strumigenys rostrata-group. P. chiricahua has a much longer diastema than is usual in this group, matched only by Strumigenys hyalina. The keyed characters of dentition, clypeal pilosity and length of basigastral costulae will easily separate the two.

Apart from these characters chiricahua has a relatively long hind tibia, ca 0.72 X HW as opposed to 0.67 X HW in hyalina, and the two have the clypeus somewhat different in shape. In full-face view the lateral margins of the clypeus in chiricahua are more or less straight and are quite evenly divergent posteriorly; the maximum width across the clypeus is ca 1.80 X the width across the outer margins of the fully closed mandibles at the point where they intersect the anterior clypeal margin. In hyalina, on the other hand, the lateral clypeal margins are very obviously convex and the maximum width across the clypeus is ca 2.20 X the width across the outer margins of the fully closed mandibles at the point where they intersect the anterior clypeal margin.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 35.171583° to 31.88350278°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • chiricahua. Smithistruma chiricahua Ward, 1988: 119, fig. 8 (w.) U.S.A. Combination in Pyramica: Bolton, 1999: 1673; in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 117. See also: Bolton, 2000: 127.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 2.1, HL 0.55, HW 0.39, CI 71, ML 0.10, MI 18, SL 0.31, SI 79, PW 0.24, AL 0.57. Fully closed mandibles with a distinct basal gap; length of diastema greater than length of basal tooth . Five principal teeth in the basal row, tooth 1 (basal) distinctly shorter than 2; tooth 2 fractionally shorter than 3 (which is the longest tooth); 4 and 5 subequal, shorter than 2 or 3 . Anterior clypeal margin broadly shallowly and evenly convex. Dorsum of clypeus conspicuously clothed with short spatulate hairs. Apicoscrobal hair short-flagellate (may be broken). Cephalic dorsum apparently without flagellate hairs close to the occipital margin, but these may have been abraded . Pronotal humeral hair long, fine and flagellate; pronotal dorsum and mesonotum each with a pair of fine standing hairs. One or 2 flagellate hairs project from dorsal (outer) surface of hind tibia and basitarsus.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Holotype worker, U.S.A.: Arizona, Cochise Co., Chiricahua Mts, Southwestern Research Station, 4.viii.1958, No. 175 (L. M. Smith & R. O. Schuster) (Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Cover S. P., and R. A. Johnson. 20011. Checklist of Arizona Ants. Downloaded on January 7th at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/AZants-2011%20updatev2.pdf
  • Ward, P. S. 1988. Mesic Elemets in the Western Nearctic Ant Fauna: Taxonomic and Bilogical Notes on Amblyopone, Proceratium, and Smithistruma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 61:102-124